People Scam Me In Dating Site

In 2018, the FBI received 351,937 romance scam complaints. It’s no secret that there are deceptive people online who want to take advantage of vulnerable and lonely individuals — and they see singles on dating sites as easy targets. Our goal is to arm you against those cybercriminals, so you don’t become one of those 5,800 complaints. Romance scams reached a record $304 million in losses reported to the FTC in 2020. That’s up about 50% from 2019. Romance scammers create fake profiles on dating sites and apps, or contact their targets through popular social media sites like Instagram, Facebook, or Google Hangouts.

A recent study indicates that 15 percent of American adults use online dating websites or mobile applications. As the number of people looking to meet new people online grows, so does the opportunity for fraud.

Some scam artists use bogus profiles to con the people they meet out of hundreds or thousands of dollars. Criminals who perpetrate online dating and romance scams use emotional appeals to quickly gain their victims’ trust and then, just as quickly, exploit it. This leaves many victims not only embarrassed but also in financial distress. It is important for online users to be on the look-out for online dating and romance scams. It can happen like this:

“Maria” signed up for an online dating service and was contacted by “Andrew,” who claimed to be an American overseas on business in Australia. Maria and Andrew seemed to hit it off and began planning a road trip for that summer when Andrew would come back to the U.S. Andrew sent Maria a check for $5,000 to cover the cost of their trip, but then suddenly asked her to send $4,500 back to him because he needed money for rent after being laid off from his job. Maria deposited the check and sent the money, but was soon contacted by her bank, which told her the check was bad and she had to repay the $4,500. On top of losing her money, the fake “Andrew” disappeared, and Maria never heard from him again.

The Phony Profile

Romance scammers often create a phony profile. The scammer may use photos from magazines and portray himself or herself as talented and successful. Fake profiles may have discrepancies or inconsistencies, like disproportionate height and weight, or be suspiciously vague. Romance scammers often claim to be a U.S. citizen working or serving abroad, or give a similar excuse to explain their inability to meet in person.

Gaining Victims’ Trust

Online dating and romance scams often begin like any other online relationship: interested individuals exchange basic information, like their line of work, their city, and their hobbies and interests. Scammers may then ask their victims to leave the dating site and use personal email or instant messaging (IM). Con artists may express their “love” quickly and effusively, find similarities with the victim, and claim the online match was destiny.

This is all a build-up for the scam artist’s real goal: conning a victim out of money. Once the victim becomes attached, the scammer looks for ways to dupe the person into sending money, which can happen in two basic ways. In the first scenario, the scammer may indirectly ask for money. For instance, some romance scammers express concern about their financial situation or ability to visit the victim in the hopes that a person will offer to send funds. In the second instance, the scammer asks for money directly. A scammer may beg for hundreds or thousands of dollars, claiming a family member became suddenly ill, he or she was robbed, or the person is having difficulty obtaining travel documents after spending all his or her money on a plane ticket to visit you. A victim may even get a call from an accomplice who claims to be a lawyer or doctor to lend credibility to the tale.

Be wary of sending money to someone you have never met in person, especially via a wire transfer service, like Western Union or MoneyGram, or a prepaid money card, like Green Dot. Once a person wires money to a foreign country, the money is generally unrecoverable.

Protecting Yourself

Online dating and romance scams are sophisticated operations that are typically conducted by criminal gangs. Con artists share information about victims and may target victims more than once. Some scammers induce victims to share personal information or images and then threaten to post or distribute them to the friends, family members, and employers if the victim refuses to pay.

The Attorney General’s Office encourages people to exercise an appropriate level of caution when looking for a relationship online and to be careful about sharing personal information and photos with people they have never met. The following are some tips on how to protect yourself from being scammed and what to do if you become a victim:

• Be careful about sharing sensitive personal or financial information with someone you have not met in person.
• Stay on the dating site—romance scammers ask their victims to use personal email or instant messaging to keep their schemes under law enforcement’s radar.
• When using an online dating site, use a separate username and different email account to protect your privacy.
• Be wary of “coincidental” similarities as well as inconsistencies in an individual’s story. If things don’t add up, press for details, or ask a friend or family member for their perspective. Romance scammers know that emotions can skew judgment and count on affection and attention to thwart their victims’ judgment.
• Wiring money is the same as sending cash—once the money is sent, it is generally lost for good.
• If an online prospect claims to be a United States citizen living or working in another country and asks you for help or money, refer the prospect to the local U.S. Embassy or Consulate. If you want to send money, consider a U.S. Department of State Office of Overseas Citizens Services (OCS) Trust. An OCS Trust works like a wire transfer, but the embassy or consulate holds the money until the recipient picks it up—and provides proof of U.S. citizenship.
• As a final effort, romance scammers may claim to still be “in love” when they are found out by their victims. Don’t fall for it. Report scammers to the dating website so others won’t be drawn in.

Taking Action

If you are a victim of an online dating or romance scam, take the following steps:

• Cease all contact and block phone numbers, IM accounts, and email addresses.
• Keep copies of all communications.
• Report the matter to the dating website.
• Report the matter to your local police.
• Report the matter to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.
• Report the matter to the Federal Trade Commission as follows:

Federal Trade Commission
Bureau of Consumer Protection
600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20580
(877) 382-4357
TTY: (866) 653-4261
www.consumer.ftc.gov

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Navigating the world of Internet dating can be an exciting and fun way to meet potential partners. However, you might quickly discover that some things are not what they seem on certain sites and profiles. Though it is one of the fastest-growing ways for singles to meet each other and form lasting relationships, there are definitely those who use the sites for dishonest purposes.

With this in mind we’ve compiled this list of nine of the biggest online dating red flags and online dating scams uncovered in recent years. These red flags may refer to clues that the person on the other end of a profile might be untrustworthy, or that the website itself might not be truthful about its intended purpose. By following this list, you’ll be well-informed enough to pursue dating online safely and wisely.

Red Flag 1: The dating website asks for excessive personal information.

All dating websites will ask for a certain amount of information in order to match you successfully with people who will hold your interest. However, this information will generally be limited to personality details and interests rather than financial information or anything that might be useful to someone wishing to steal your identity. A popular scam involves sites that ask you to create a profile specifically to mine your information. You know those security questions on bank websites about your mother’s maiden name or your first school? If a dating site asks you questions like these, steer clear!

Red Flag 2: Your date wants to meet somewhere secluded.

You probably have heard stories about first dates ending before they even began because the other person wanted to meet somewhere completely inappropriate. First dates with someone online should at least begin in a public place. Someone who insists on meeting at his or her home or someplace secluded doesn’t have very much respect for your safety and security, even if they don’t mean you any harm.

This warning applies to men as much as women, because there have been reports of men being lured into situations where they were robbed (or worse) by multiple parties simply because they didn’t think they personally had to worry about meeting someone dangerous online.

Red Flag 3: The online dating profile has only professional photos.

Though it’s possible that an actual model with a portfolio was matched with you on a dating site, it’s much more likely that the profile is fake. Fake profiles are generally used to mine information from unsuspecting singles, or to convince you to download malware (generally disguised as a photo file) that will steal your data and put you at risk.

Red Flag 4: Everyone looks like a celebrity on the website.

Individual profiles are often used by scammers, but even worse are entire websites created for the same purpose. If you find yourself on a less well-known dating site where each profile features a more attractive person than the last and everyone seems to be an expert at photo retouching, it’s likely that you’re about to fall victim to a scam. Free online dating sites seem to be the most common offenders of this crime, and many of them have no ill intent besides convincing you to join using fake photos. When it comes to online dating, honesty is always the best policy and you should expect it from your dates and the sites you find them on.

Red Flag 5: An online dating profile mentions illegal drugs or activity.

People Scam Me In Dating Site Website

Some users might feel it necessary to request any and all potential dates are “420 friendly” or otherwise inclined to participate in recreational drug use. However, profiles that mention drugs are more than likely a cover for someone in your area who is running a covert sales operation and wants you to be his newest customer. Generally speaking, a dating site drug dealer might correspond with you normally at first, but then quickly bring the conversation to whatever drugs they are selling. This will likely include offers to come and “party” with some friends, followed quickly by a veritable shopping list of different strains or varieties of illegal products and their prices. Just steer clear.

People Scam Me In Dating Site Free

Red Flag 6: Someone gets overly emotional too soon.

Do you find yourself having to apologize just because you’re ready to end the conversation after a few hours? Does the person assume you’re not interested because you didn’t reply to a text right away? Have you received a long email detailing how much someone you’ve just been matched with has been “waiting for someone like you forever”? This is a chief online dating red flag to worry about, as emotional instability is potentially a symptom of a greater mental disorder. Most dating sites offer a block button and this is definitely a situation in which you should use it.

Red Flag 7: When someone says, “Let’s go out sometime next month, maybe.”

Weird timing rules are a red flag for a couple of reasons. On one hand, someone who claims he or she cannot meet with you for a month or longer might just be exceedingly cautious and looking to build an emotional connection prior to any actual face-to-face meeting. On the other hand, he or she could be requesting so much time to hide something. Catfishing describes a situation in which a person uses someone else’s photos in order to meet people online and then reveals his or her true self only after continuing to lie becomes impossible. Requesting an unusual amount of time before meeting is usually a sign that the person is not who they seem to be. You might be being catfished if your date is constantly canceling plans or refuses to make them in the first place, citing timing issues. This could also be a sign that your match is in a relationship or married and need that much time to figure out how to cheat without being discovered.

Red Flag 8: Someone seems too interested in your children.

Online Dating Site Scammers List

Though predators who frequent online dating sites are generally interested in harming adults, there have been cases of women dating men online only to find out that the men were interested in those women’s young children for horrible reasons. If you mention your children in your profile and potential dates seem to have more questions about them than you, it is a sign that you should not ignore. Some dating sites offer flagging options that will allow you to alert moderators of someone who seems dangerous to you or your family.

Red Flag 9: The website offers incentives like free premium membership in exchange for personal information,

Some free online dating sites may seem legitimate at first glance, but will reveal their true colors once you’ve been a member for a while. You may receive an offer for a free premium membership or some other exclusive perk in exchange for filling out a survey that unsurprisingly contains similar questions to those used for banking. You should never reveal any information that can be used to access private or financial details, no matter what perks you are being offered.